Relevant Field
The present disclosure relates to detecting (e.g., for estimating, tracking, or categorizing) gas (e.g., air bubbles) in a fluid line. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system, method, and apparatus for detecting air in a fluid line using active rectification. For example, the present disclosure relates to a system, method, and/or an apparatus for detecting air bubbles in a fluid line used in various medical applications, such as intravenous infusion therapy, dialysis, transfusion therapy, peritoneal infusion therapy, bolus delivery, enteral nutrition therapy, parenteral nutrition therapy, hemoperfusion therapy, fluid resuscitation therapy, or insulin delivery, among others.
Description of Related Art
In many medical settings, one common mode of medical treatment involves delivering fluids into a patient. The need may arise to rapidly infuse therapeutic fluid into the patient, accurately infuse the fluid into the patient, and/or slowly infuse the fluid into the patient. Occasionally, air bubbles may form within the fluid line coupled to the patient which may then deliver the bubbles to the patient's tissue with the therapeutic fluid.
Too much air delivered to a patient may be detrimental for a patient. For example, too much total air delivered to a patient during a treatment or too much air delivered to a patient during a timeframe (e.g., the last 10 minutes) may have adverse effects on the patient. Furthermore, air bubbles within the fluid line may offset the amount of therapeutic fluid delivered to the patient. Patient outcomes may be improved to account for any displaced therapeutic fluid by increasing the amount of fluid infused to ensure that the desired amount of therapeutic fluid is delivered to the patient.
Delivery of fluid into the patient may be facilitated by use of a gravity-fed line (or tube) inserted into the patient. Typically, a fluid reservoir (e.g., an IV bag) is hung on a pole and is connected to the fluid tube. The fluid tube is sometimes coupled to a drip chamber for trapping air and estimating fluid flow. Below the fluid tube may be a manually actuated valve used to adjust the flow of fluid. For example, by counting the number of drops formed in the drip chamber within a certain amount of time, a caregiver can calculate the rate of fluid that flows through the drip chamber and adjust the valve (if needed) to achieve a desired flow rate.
Certain treatments require that the fluid delivery system strictly adhere to the flow rate set by the caregiver. Typically, such applications use an infusion pump, but such pumps may not be used in all situations or environments. Air detection may be used by a gravity fed infusion treatment or an infusion pump assisted infusion treatment, among other medical applications.